By By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
March 20, 2001
The trial of three area residents accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from an elderly man was scheduled to begin today in Lauderdale County Circuit Court.
Susan McElroy, 49, of 118 River Road, Stonewall, pleaded not guilty in August to a 68-count indictment alleging she stole the money from A.L. Abrams. McElroy was Abrams' caregiver.
Two other defendants, Sara Rogers and Roy W. Rogers, were also indicted in connection with the events.
The indictments allege that between 1993 and 1997 McElroy wrote checks on Abrams' account, either signing the checks herself or tricking him into signing the checks.
Abrams has since died.
One count of the indictment alleges that McElroy wrote a single check on a J.C. Bradford account for $247,000. A state investigator said McElroy allegedly used the money to buy a camper, houses and cars.
While most of the checks were written for amounts ranging from $200 to $1,500, other checks were written for $90,000, $20,000 and $13,000.
A state official said McElroy was investigated after her granddaughter became suspicious of her spending habits and unexplained affluence and called the authorities.
Sara Rogers, 57, of 118 River Road in Stonewall, was indicted for two counts of false pretense in connection with the case.
Roy Rogers, 37, of 9213 Pine Springs Road, was indicted on 11 counts of false pretense, also in connection with the case. The indictment alleges Roy Rogers wrote more than $32,000 in checks on accounts belonging to Abrams and allegedly wrote one check for more than $13,000.
The three defendants are free on $5,000 bond each.
The trial was set to begin at 9 a.m. before Circuit Judge Larry Roberts.
Marianne Todd is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at mtodd@the meridianstar.com.